Aviation watch

ABSTRACT

A wearable electronic device utilizes indicators on a display screen, such as tick marks positioned around the perimeter of the display, to point to the bearing of a desired location such as a nearest airport when GPS is enabled. The electronic device may be implemented as an aviation watch that comprises a display device having a screen including a plurality of indicators arranged proximal to a perimeter of the screen. The aviation watch determines a direction of an airport that is nearest in proximity to the location of the aviation watch and activates a subset of the plurality of indicators of the screen, the subset of the plurality of indicators providing a directional bearing to the airport determined to be nearest in proximity to the location of the aviation watch.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of, and claims prioritybenefit to, co-pending and commonly assigned U.S. non-provisional patentapplication entitled “AVIATION WATCH,” application Ser. No. 14/319,418,filed Jun. 30, 2014, which claims the benefit of 35 U.S.C. §119(e) ofU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/883,574, filed Sep. 27, 2013,and titled “AVIATION WATCH,” each of which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Because of their relatively small size and compact form, globalpositioning system (GPS) enabled mobile electronic devices offer severalpractical advantages with respect to providing navigation andnavigation-related content and positional data to a user. For example,watches that provide various position and navigation functionality towearers are often used for running, hiking, biking, and other sportingactivities.

SUMMARY

Techniques are described to furnish functionality to a GPS-enabledmobile electronic device configured to be worn by a user (hereinafter, a“wearable electronic device”) to utilize indicators on a display screen,such as tick marks positioned around the perimeter of the display, topoint to the bearing of a desired location such as a nearest airportwhen GPS is enabled. In one or more implementations, the wearableelectronic device may be implemented as an aviation watch that comprisesa display device having a screen including a plurality of indicatorsarranged proximal to a perimeter of the screen; a global positioningsystem (GPS) receiver operable to receive one or more signals associatedwith a location of the aviation watch; a memory operable to store one ormore modules; and a processor. The processor is operable to execute theone or more modules to determine a direction of an airport that isnearest in proximity to the location of the aviation watch and activatea subset of the plurality of indicators of the screen, the subset of theplurality of indicators providing a directional bearing to the airportdetermined to be nearest in proximity to the location of the aviationwatch. In embodiments, other waypoints or airports may be selected fordirectional guidance using the indicators.

This Summary is provided solely to introduce subject matter that isfully described in the Detailed Description and Drawings. Accordingly,the Summary should not be considered to describe essential features norbe used to determine scope of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. The use of the same reference numbers in different instances inthe description and the figures can indicate similar or identical items.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example environment in which techniquesmay be implemented in a wearable electronic device, such as an aviationwatch, to furnish an illumination or activation pattern of indicators toprovide directional information to a user of the device.

FIG. 2 is an example schematic diagram of the wearable electronic deviceof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an example display of the wearable electronic device, showingactivation of the indicators for directional information in accordancewith an example implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A is an example display of the wearable electronic device (e.g.,an aviation watch), showing a horizontal situation indicator (HSI) pagein accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is an example display of the wearable electronic device, showingaltimeter information page in accordance with an example implementationof the present disclosure.

FIG. 4C is an example display of the wearable electronic device, showinga map page in accordance with an example implementation of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4D is an example display of the wearable electronic device, showingrelative positional information page in accordance with an exampleimplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4E is an example display of the wearable electronic device, showingan instruments page in accordance with an example implementation of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an example schematic diagram of a wearable electronic devicein accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an example operational flow diagram for furnishing anillumination or activation pattern of indicators to provide directionalinformation to a user of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

The present disclosure describes techniques, which may be implemented ina GPS-enabled wearable electronic device, that employ patterns ofindicators positioned proximal to a perimeter of a display screen of awearable electronic device for providing information to a user.“Proximal to the perimeter of the display screen”, as used herein, meanscloser to the perimeter of the display screen than to the center of thedisplay. For example, the wearable electronic device can include aplurality of indicators (such as tick marks) arranged about a perimeter(e.g., a circumference) of the display screen, whereby an illuminationor activation pattern of the indicators provides information to theuser. In such configurations, the indicators may be spaced from thecenter of the display by around 80-100% of the total distance betweenthe center of the display and the perimeter of the display.

In one or more implementations, the wearable electronic device may beimplemented as an aviation watch that comprises a display device havinga screen including a plurality of indicators arranged proximal to aperimeter of the display screen. The aviation watch acquires thelocations of airfields (e.g., airports), waypoints, navaids, and/orother points of interest (POIs) near to the aviation watch, determinesthe airport location (or other waypoint) that is nearest in proximity tothe wearable electronic device, and activates a subset of the pluralityof indicators of the display screen. In embodiments, the subset of theplurality of indicators provides a directional bearing to the nearestairport (or other waypoint).

Such a configuration enables a user (e.g., a pilot, copilot, or othermember of a flight crew) to quickly ascertain the direction to thenearest airport relative to the aircraft with minimum pilot workload.Accordingly, the user can maneuver the aircraft such that the indicatorspoint up on the screen (e.g., point to a top or a twelve o'clockposition), whereby the user and aircraft will then be traveling towardthe nearest airport.

In the following discussion, an example wearable electronic deviceenvironment is first described. Example procedures are then describedthat can be employed with the example environment, as well as with otherenvironments and devices without departing from the spirit and scopethereof. Example display screens of the wearable electronic device arethen described that can be employed in the illustrated environment, aswell as in other environments without departing from the spirit andscope thereof.

Example Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wearable electronic device 100 that isoperable to perform the techniques discussed herein. In FIG. 1, aperspective view of a wearable electronic device 100 is shown inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Thewearable electronic device 100 is operable to provide timekeeping,flight and/or navigation functionality to a user of the device 100.

The wearable electronic device 100 may be configured in a variety ofways. In implementations, the wearable electronic device 100 includesapparatus permitting the device to be worn by a user of the device. Forexample, in one embodiment, the wearable electronic device 100 caninclude a wristband permitting the device to be worn about the wrist ofa user. For example, a wearable electronic device 100 may be implementedas a GPS-enabled aviation watch, which may be configured as a wristwatchhaving a wristband that may be worn about the wrist of a user. However,it is contemplated that wearable electronic devices 100 may be worn inother ways. For example, a wearable electronic device 100 may include achain or necklace permitting the wearable electronic device to be wornabout the neck of the user, a belt permitting the wearable electronicdevice to be worn about the torso of the user, a helmet or headsetmounted display (HMD), wearable goggles or glasses, and so forth.Moreover, it is contemplated that the techniques of the presentdisclosure may be implemented in any GPS-enabled mobile electronicdevice that includes navigation and/or flight information functionality.Thus, in embodiments, the techniques disclosed herein may be implementedin a mobile electronic device configured as a portable navigation device(PND), a mobile phone, a hand-held portable computer, a tablet computer,a personal digital assistant, a multimedia device, a media player, agame device, combinations thereof, and so forth. In the followingdescription, a referenced component, such as wearable electronic device100, may refer to one or more entities, and therefore by conventionreference may be made to a single entity (e.g., the wearable electronicdevice 100) or multiple entities (e.g., the wearable electronic devices100, the plurality of wearable electronic devices 100, and so on) usingthe same reference number.

The wearable electronic device 100 includes a housing 102. The housing102 is configured to house (e.g., substantially enclose) variouscomponents of the wearable electronic device 100. The housing 102 may beformed from a lightweight and impact-resistant material, such asplastic, nylon, or combinations thereof, for example. However, inembodiments, the housing 102 may also be formed from a conductivematerial, such as metal, or a semi-conductive material. The housing 102may be formed from a non-conductive material, such as a non-metalmaterial, for example. The housing 102 may include one or more gaskets(e.g., a seal) to permit the housing 102 to become substantiallywaterproof or water resistant. The housing 102 may include a locationfor a battery and/or another power source for powering one or morecomponents of the wearable electronic device 100. The housing 102 may bea singular piece or may include a plurality of sections.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wearable electronic device 100 includes adisplay 104. The display 104 may include one or more of a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a thin film transistor (TFT), a light-emitting diode(LED), a light-emitting polymer (LEP), a polymer light-emitting diode(PLED), and so forth. In one or more implementations, the display 104 isconfigured to display text and/or graphical information. The display 104may be backlit such that it may be viewed in the dark or other low-lightenvironments. In an implementation, the display 104 is a 100 pixel by 64pixel film compensated super-twisted nematic display (FSTN) including alight-emitting diode (LED) backlight. In some configurations, thebacklight may generate orange and/or red light to limit interferencewith the user's natural night vision and/or night vision imaging system(NVIS) equipment.

The display 104 may include a transparent lens that covers and/orprotects components of the wearable electronic device 100. The display104 may be provided with a touch screen to receive input (e.g., data,commands, etc.) from a user. For example, a user may operate thewearable electronic device 100 by touching the touch screen and/or byperforming gestures on the screen. In some embodiments, the touch screenmay be a capacitive touch screen, a resistive touch screen, an infraredtouch screen, combinations thereof, and so forth. In implementations,the wearable electronic device 100 includes one or more user inputdevices (e.g., a keypad, buttons, a wireless input device, a thumbwheelinput device, a track stick input device, and so forth). The user inputdevices may include one or more audio I/O devices, such as a microphone,one or more speakers, and so forth.

The wearable electronic device 100 may also include a communicationmodule representative of communication functionality to permit thewearable electronic device 100 to send/receive data between differentdevices (e.g., components, peripherals, and so forth) and/or over one ormore networks. The communication module may be representative of avariety of communication components and functionality including, but notlimited to: one or more antennas; a browser; a transmitter, receiver,and/or transceiver; a wireless radio; one or more data ports; one ormore software interfaces and drivers; one or more networking interfaces;one or more data processing components; and so forth. The wearableelectronic device 100 may be configured to communicate via one or morenetworks with a cellular provider and an Internet provider to receivemobile phone service and various content, respectively. Content mayrepresent a variety of different content, examples of which include, butare not limited to: map data, which may include route information; webpages; services; music; photographs; video; email service; instantmessaging; device drivers; real-time and/or historical weather data;instruction updates; and so forth.

The one or more networks are representative of a variety of differentcommunication pathways and network connections which may be employed,individually or in combinations, to communicate among variouscomponents. Thus, the one or more networks may be representative ofcommunication pathways achieved using a single network or multiplenetworks. Further, the one or more networks are representative of avariety of different types of networks and connections that arecontemplated including, but not limited to: the Internet; an intranet; asatellite network; a cellular network; a mobile data network; wiredand/or wireless connections; and so forth. Examples of wireless networksinclude, but are not limited to: networks configured for communicationsaccording to: one or more standard of the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE), such as 802.11 or 802.16 (Wi-Max)standards; Wi-Fi standards promulgated by the Wi-Fi Alliance; Bluetoothstandards promulgated by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group; and soon. Wired communications are also contemplated such as through universalserial bus (USB), Ethernet, serial connections, and so forth.

In embodiments, the user input device includes a control button 106. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the control button 106 is associated with, e.g.,adjacent, the housing 102. While FIG. 1 illustrates five control buttons106 associated with the housing 102, other implementations providedifferent configurations. For example, the wearable electronic device100 may include fewer than five control buttons 106, such as one, two,three, or four control buttons 106. Additionally, the wearableelectronic device 100 may include more than five control buttons 106,such as six, seven, or eight for example. The control button 106 isconfigured to control a function of the wearable electronic device 100.For example, the various control buttons 106, and/or other elements ofthe user input devices, may be used to select between operating modes ofthe device 100, as described below. In embodiments, user input may beprovided from movement of the housing 102. For example, an accelerometermay be used to identify tap inputs on the housing 102 or upward and/orsideways movements of the housing 102. In embodiments, user input may beprovided from touch inputs identified using various touch sensingtechnologies, such as resistive touch, capacitive touch interfaces, andso forth.

Further, the control buttons 106 and/or other user input devices may beused to switch between various mode pages. As provided in FIG. 2,functions of the wearable electronic device 100 may be associated with alocation determining component 142 and/or a performance monitoringcomponent 144. Functions of the wearable electronic device 100 mayinclude, but are not limited to, providing timekeeping functionality bydisplaying on the display 104 a current time (e.g., indicators 108positioned around the circumference or perimeter of the display 104 canindicate chronological seconds), displaying on the display 104 adirectional bearing to the nearest airport (such as through illuminationof one or more indicators 108), displaying a current geographic locationof the wearable electronic device 100, mapping a location on the display104, locating a desired location and displaying the desired location onthe display 104, monitoring a user's heart rate, monitoring a user'sspeed, monitoring a distance traveled, calculating calories burned, andthe like. The user input devices, such as one or more of the controlbuttons 106, may be used to switch between, activate, control,configure, and otherwise use these various functions.

In some configurations, control button 106 a may be configured as a“direct to” shortcut input. Depressing button 106 a launches a waypointentry screen where a user may utilize one or more of the buttons 106and/or other user input devices to input a waypoint, such as an airportidentifier, GPS waypoint, navaid, combinations thereof, and the like.Upon entry and selection of the inputted waypoint, the device 100 mayprovide navigational functionality regarding the selected waypoint. Forexample, indicators 108 may indicate the direction to the inputtedwaypoint and navigational informational, such as distance, ETA, ETE, andother metrics and mode information, may be provided regarding theinputted waypoint. In some implementations, button 106 a may function asan “up” input when depressed momentarily and function as the “direct to”shortcut when depressed for longer periods of time.

In some configurations, control button 106 b may be configured as a“nearest” shortcut input. Depressing button 106 b launches a nearestairport list that lists nearby airports based on geographic distancefrom the current geographic location of the device 100. Upon entry andselection of one of the displayed airports, the device 100 may providenavigational functionality regarding the selected airport. For example,indicators 108 may indicate the direction to the selected airport andnavigational informational, such as distance, ETA, ETE, and othermetrics and mode information, may be provided regarding the selectedairport. Such functionality may be useful, for example, to enable theuser of the device 100 to rapidly locate nearby airports in flightwithout having to access several menu pages and inputs. In someimplementations, button 106 b may function as a “down” input whendepressed momentarily and function as the “nearest” shortcut whendepressed for longer periods of time.

In various configurations, the indicators 108 may be configured as tickmarks positioned around the perimeter of the display. In otherconfigurations, a single indicator 108 may be provided that isconfigured to be presented near or around the perimeter of the display.For instance, the indicator 108 may be configured as a pointer or arrowhead that indicates time (seconds, minutes, hours, etc.) in timekeepingmode and which provide directional bearing functionality (describedbelow) in navigation mode. Thus, the one or more indicators 108 indicatechronological information (e.g., seconds) in timekeeping mode andnavigation information (bearing, etc.) in navigation mode.

In embodiments, the one or more indicators 108 can be illuminated toprovide a representation of various information depending on the mode ofthe wearable electronic device 100. For example, in a navigation modethe one or more indicators 108 can provide a directional bearing to thenearest airport (or other waypoint), whereas in a timekeeping mode theindicators 108 can indicate chronological seconds. In an implementation,the display 104 includes sixty (60) indicators 108 positioned around thecircumference or perimeter of the display 104, where each indicator 108provides representation of a chronological second to emulate theseconds' hand of a conventional analog watch.

In accordance with one or more implementations of the presentdisclosure, the wearable electronic device 100 may be implemented as aGPS-enabled aviation watch, which may be configured as a wristwatchhaving a wristband 110 that may be worn about the wrist of a user tosecure the aviation watch to the wrist of the user. As illustrated inFIG. 1, the wristband 110 is associated with, e.g., coupled to, thehousing 102. For example, the wristband 110 may be removably secured tothe housing 102 via attachment of securing elements to correspondingconnecting elements. Examples of securing elements and/or connectingelements include, but are not limited to pins, hooks, latches, clamps,snaps, and the like. The wristband 110 may be made of a lightweight andresilient thermoplastic elastomer, leather, metal, a fabric,combinations thereof, and so forth. In embodiments, the wristband 110may encircle a portion of the wrist of a user without discomfort whilesecuring the housing 102 to the user's wrist. The wristband 110 may alsobe configured as a strap to attach the housing to various portions of auser's body, such as a user's leg, forearm, and/or upper arm, fixtureswithin the aircraft, and so forth.

Referring to FIG. 2, a wearable electronic device 100, such as anaviation watch, is illustrated in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure. The housing 102 can include alocation determining component 142 positioned within the housing. Forexample, the location determining component 142 may include an antenna111 having a ground plane. The ground plane may be formed by coupling aprinted circuit board and/or a conductive cage with the antenna 111. Theantenna 111 and the ground plane may be coupled using solder, connectionelements, or combinations thereof.

In one or more implementations, the location determining component 142is a GPS receiver that is configured to provide geographic locationinformation of the watch. Generally, GPS is a satellite-based radionavigation system capable of determining continuous position, velocity,time, and direction information. The location determining component 142may additionally or alternatively be configured to utilize other globalnavigation satellite systems (GNSS) such as the GALILEO, GLONASS, andBEIDOU systems. Further, the location determining component 142 may beconfigured to utilize terrestrial position systems to determine deviceposition, such as radio navigation aids (VOR), cellular networktriangulation, Wi-Fi network triangular, combinations thereof, and thelike.

Location determining component 142 may be configured to provide avariety of other location determining functionality. Locationdetermining functionality, for purposes of discussion herein, may relateto a variety of different navigation techniques and other techniquesthat may be supported by “knowing” one or more positions. For instance,location determining functionality may be employed to provideposition/location information, timing information, speed information,and a variety of other navigation-related data. Accordingly, thelocation determining component 142 may be configured in a variety ofways to perform a wide variety of functions. For example, the locationdetermining component 142 may be configured for outdoor navigation,vehicle navigation, aerial navigation (e.g., for aircraft), marinenavigation, personal use (e.g., as a part of fitness-related equipment),and so forth. Accordingly, the location determining component 142 mayinclude a variety of devices to determine position using one or more ofthe techniques previously described.

The location determining component 142, for instance, may use signaldata received via a GPS receiver in combination with map data that isstored in a memory of the wearable electronic device 100 to providevarious functionalities, such as determining the location of the nearestairport and displaying a directional bearing on the display 104indicating the direction to the determined nearest airport, generatingnavigation instructions (e.g., via navigational points, vectors andguidance information to a waypoint, etc.), show a current position on amap, and so on. Location determining component 142 may include one ormore antennas 111 to receive signal data as well as to perform othercommunications, such as communication via one or more networks. Thelocation determining component 142 may also provide other positioningfunctionality, such as to determine a heading, latitude, longitude, anaverage speed, calculate an arrival time, and so forth.

The location determining component 142 may include one or moreprocessors, controllers, and/or other computing devices as well as amemory, e.g., for storing information accessed and/or generated by theprocessors or other computing devices. The processor may be electricallycoupled with a printed circuit board and operable to process positiondetermining signals received by the antenna 111. The locationdetermining component 142, e.g., via the antenna 111, is configured toreceive position determining signals, such as GPS signals from GPSsatellites, to determine a current geographic location of the watch. Thelocation determining component 142 may be configured to calculate aroute to a desired location, provide instructions, e.g., directions, tonavigate to the desired location, display maps and other information onthe display, and to execute other functions, such as, but not limitedto, those functions described herein. In some configurations, thelocation determining component 142 includes a first processor configuredto process received positioning signals and to determine devicelocation. A second processor, discrete from the first processor, may beincorporated into the device 100 to provide other functionality,including the navigation, timekeeping, and guidance functionalitydescribed herein.

A memory, such as the memory of the location determining component 142,may store cartographic data and executable modules used by or generatedby the location determining component 142. The memory may be integralwith the location determining component 142, may be a stand-alonememory, or may be a combination of an integral and a stand-alone memory.The memory may include, for example, a removable nonvolatile memorycard. The memory is an example of device-readable storage media thatprovides storage functionality to store various data associated with theoperation of the wearable electronic device 100, such as a softwareprogram configured to implement the processes and modules describedherein, or other data to instruct the processor and other elements ofthe wearable electronic device 100 to perform the techniques describedherein. A wide variety of types and combinations of memory may beemployed. The memory may include, for example, removable andnon-removable memory elements such as RAM, ROM, Flash (e.g., SD Card,mini-SD card, micro-SD Card), magnetic, optical, USB memory devices, andso forth.

Antenna 111 may be any antenna capable of receiving wireless signalsfrom a remote source, including directional antennas and omnidirectionalantennas. In one or more implementations, the antenna 111 is configuredto receive and/or transmit a signal, such as a GPS signal. Antenna 111may include any type of antenna in which the length of the ground planeaffects the efficiency of the antenna. In accordance with one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure, the antenna 111 is anomnidirectional antenna having a ground plane. An omnidirectionalantenna may receive and/or transmit in both orthogonal polarizations,depending upon direction. In other words, omnidirectional antennas donot have a predominant direction of reception and/or transmission.Examples of omnidirectional antennas include, but are not limited to,inverted-F antennas (IFAs) and planar inverted-F antennas (PIFAs). Incontrast to omnidirectional antennas, directional antennas have aprimary lobe of reception and/or transmission over an approximate 70 by70 degree sector in a direction away from the ground plane. Examples ofdirectional antennas include, but are not limited to, microstripantennas and patch antennas.

The antenna 111 may be embedded within the housing 102, external withrespect to the housing 102, or a combination of embedded and external.In accordance with one or more implementations of the presentdisclosure, the antenna 111 is an embedded antenna. As used herein, anembedded antenna refers to an antenna that is positioned completelywithin a device housing. For example, antenna 111 may be positionedcompletely within housing 102. In some embodiments, antenna 111 may bean external antenna with all or a portion of the antenna 111 exposedfrom housing 102.

As discussed, the location determining component 142 includes theantenna 111. The antenna 111 may be associated with, e.g., formed onand/or within, an antenna support assembly. Antenna 111 may bepositioned on a top portion or one or more side portions of the antennasupport assembly.

As described herein, the location determining component 142 may includea printed circuit board electrically coupled to one or more processingcomponents. The printed circuit board may support a number ofprocessors, microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, programmableintelligent computers (PIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA),other processing components, other field logic devices, applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASIC), and/or a memory that is configuredto access and/or store information that is received or generated by thewatch. The wearable electronic device 100 may implement one or moresoftware programs to control text and/or graphical information on thedisplay, as discussed herein. In one or more implementations, theprinted circuit board supports a bottom portion of the antenna supportassembly. For example, the antenna support assembly and antenna 111 maybe positioned in the center of the top surface, bottom surface, or to aside of the printed circuit board.

A processor may provide processing functionality for the wearableelectronic device 100 and may include any number of processors,micro-controllers, or other processing systems, and resident or externalmemory for storing data and other information accessed or generated bythe wearable electronic device 100. The processor may execute one ormore software programs that implement the techniques and modulesdescribed herein. The processor is not limited by the materials fromwhich it is formed or the processing mechanisms employed therein and, assuch, may be implemented via semiconductor(s) and/or transistors (e.g.,electronic integrated circuits (ICs)), and so forth. As described above,the processor may comprise a portion of the location determiningcomponent, may be discrete from the location determining component, ormay be one of several processors utilized by the device 100.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,functions of the wearable electronic device (e.g., an aviation watch)100 may be associated with the location determining component 142 and/orthe performance monitoring component 144. For example, the locationdetermining component 142 is configured to receive signals, e.g.position determining signals, such as GPS signals, to determine aposition of the watch as a function of the signals. In animplementation, the location determining component 142 is configured tocompare the position of the wearable electronic device 100 relative toone or more airports. For example, the location determining component142 can access location data of airports as a signal from a memory(e.g., a memory integral with the location determining component 142,separate from the location determining component 142, or a combinationof integral with and separate from the location determining component142), compare the location data of the airports with the currentposition of the wearable electronic device 100, and determine adirectional bearing to the closest (e.g., nearest in proximity) airport.The wearable electronic device 100 can then provide an indication of thedirectional bearing on the display 104. For example, as shown in FIG. 3,the display 104 includes a plurality of indicators 300 positioned aroundthe circumference or perimeter of the display. The display 104 isconfigured such that a subset of the plurality of indicators 300 can beactivated independently of the other indicators. The wearable electronicdevice 100 can provide an indication of the directional bearing of theclosest airport by illuminating or otherwise activating the subset ofindicators. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a subset 302 of the plurality ofindicators 300 is activated near the top position 304 or “twelveo'clock” position, which indicates that the user is oriented towards theclosest airport. The display 104 may also provide a compass ring 306 anda direction of travel 308 of the user, which is provided in degrees inFIG. 3.

The indicators 300 can be activated/illuminated as pixels of a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor (TFT), a light-emittingdiode (LED), a light-emitting polymer (LEP), a polymer light-emittingdiode (PLED), and so forth. In one or more implementations, the wearableelectronic device 100 includes timekeeping functionality where theindicators 300 provide an indication of chronological seconds. Thetimekeeping functionality may include providing information such as timeof day, stop watch, Zulu time, time zone information, and so forth.

The device 100 may be equipped with a database of airport locationsincluding the name and location of various airports. Other information,such as information for each airport from its airport flight directorylisting (e.g., runway dimensions and orientation, etc.), may also beincluded the database. The database may also include locationinformation for other waypoints, such as non-directional beacons (NDB),VHF Omnidirectional (VOR) beacons, RNAV/GPS waypoints for approach, enroute, and departure operations, user-specified locations such asuser-entered destinations, waypoints, and flight plan information,combinations thereof, and the like.

The wearable electronic device 100 may be configured to provide variouslocation-based information via the display 104. In one or moreimplementations, the location determining component 142 is configured todisplay course lines, bearings related to waypoints, a course deviationindicator (CDI), distance of deviation from a course, and so forth. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4A, the display 104 provides a horizontalsituation indicator (HSI) page that displays a course line pointer 400,a bearing to the next waypoint 402, a to-from indicator 404, a coursedeviation indicator (CDI) 406, and an indicator to show a distance ofdeviation 408. In embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4B, the display 104provides an altimeter page display that includes indicia configured tofurnish an alert altitude 410 (e.g., an altitude at which the wearableelectronic device 100 will provide an audible or tactile alert), apressure altitude 412, a barometric pressure 414, combinations thereof,and so forth. In embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4C, the display 104provides a map page display that includes indicia furnishing anindication of current location and direction 416, a route to a nextwaypoint 418, and a bearing to a next waypoint 420. In embodiments, asshown in FIG. 4D, the display 104 provides a nearest airport pagedisplay, which can provide relative positional information. For example,the display 104 can include indicia furnishing an airport identifier 422for the nearest airport, a bearing to the airport 424, a distance to theairport 426, a track over ground 428, an estimated time for arrival atthe airport 430, combinations thereof, and so forth. In embodiments, asshown in FIG. 4E, the display 104 provides an instruments page displaythat includes indicia furnishing a ground speed 432, an altitude 434, atrack over ground 436, a vertical speed 438 (e.g., as provided in feetper minute, or other units), combinations thereof, and so forth. In theexample embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 through 4E, the plurality ofindicators (e.g., indicators 108) can provide a visual indication of abearing to a nearest airport regardless of the page presented by thedevice 100 and/or selected by the user. The user may depress button(s)106 to select the desired page for display as well as to control thevarious functions and features provided by each page.

The location determining component 142 may also be configured tocalculate a route to a desired location, provide instructions tonavigate to the desired location, display maps and/or other informationon the display 104, to execute other functions described herein, amongother things. The performance monitoring component 144 may be positionedwithin the housing 102 and be coupled to the location determiningcomponent 142 and the display 104. The performance monitoring component144 may receive information, including, but not limited to geographiclocation information, from the location determining component 142 toperform a function, such as monitoring performance and/or calculatingperformance values and/or information related to a watch user'smovement. The monitoring of the performance and/or the calculatingperformance values may be based at least in part on the geographiclocation information. The performance values may include, for example, auser's heart rate, speed, a total distance traveled, total distancegoals, speed goals, pace, cadence, and calories burned. These valuesand/or information may be presented on the display 104.

The wearable electronic device 100 may include one or more sensors,processing elements, and memory elements to support functionalitiesdisclosed herein. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the wearableelectronic device 100 includes an altitude sensor 500, aposition/direction sensor 502, a processor 504, and a memory 506. Thealtitude sensor 500 is configured to detect or sense an altitude of thewearable electronic device 100. For example, the altitude sensor 500 caninclude an altimeter 508, a pressure sensor 510, a barometer 512,combinations thereof, and so forth. The position/direction sensor 502 isconfigured to determine a position and/or direction of travel of thewearable electronic device 100. For example, the position/directionsensor 502 can include a global positioning system/global navigationsatellite system (GPS/GNSS) receiver 514, a cellular/radio receiver 516,a magnetic compass, combinations thereof, and so forth. One or more ofthe components of the wearable electronic device 100 is powered by apower source, such as by an internal power source (e.g., a battery,piezoelectric device, etc.), an external power source, or a combinationof internal and external power. Continuously utilizing theposition/direction sensor to determine the position of the device (orutilizing another component of the wearable electronic device 100) canquickly consume the available power from the power source, such as froma battery supported by the housing 102. In embodiments, the wearableelectronic device 100 is configured to activate and deactivate theposition/direction sensor 502 based upon meeting certain conditions. Forexample, the wearable electronic device 100 can be configured todetermine when to activate the position/direction sensor 502 based upona measurement by the altitude sensor 500. In an implementation, thewearable electronic device 100 takes periodic pressure measurements viathe altitude sensor 500 to determine if the vertical speed of thedevice/user is sufficient to assume the pilot has taken off from theground in an aircraft. Upon determining that the vertical speedindicates that the wearable electronic device 100 is airborne (e.g., thedetermined vertical speed exceeds a predetermined threshold for flight),the wearable electronic device 100 enables or activates theposition/direction sensor 502. Simultaneously, the device 100 may enablevarious timekeeping functionality such as a flight timer. In thismanner, the wearable electronic device 100 can function as a virtual logbook by automatically recording flight time, duration, position,distance, and the like, while avoiding power consumption by theposition/direction sensor 502 when the wearable electronic device 100 isnot in flight. Additionally, by periodically obtaining pressuremeasurements via the altitude sensor 500 to determine if the wearableelectronic device 100 is in flight, the wearable electronic device 100can activate the position/direction sensor 502 without the need of inputfrom the user, which can prevent a user from accidentally forgetting toenable the position/direction sensor 502 before flight.

In embodiments, the wearable electronic device 100 includes a userinterface, which is storable in memory and executable by the processor.The user interface is representative of functionality to control thedisplay of information and data to the user of the wearable electronicdevice 100 via the display 104. In some implementations, the display 104may not be integrated into the wearable electronic device 100 and mayinstead be connected externally using a connector, such as universalserial bus (USB), Ethernet, serial connections, and so forth. The userinterface may provide functionality to allow the user to interact withone or more applications of the wearable electronic device 100 byproviding inputs via the touch screen and/or the I/O devices. Forexample, the user interface may cause an application programminginterface (API) to be generated to expose functionality to anapplication to configure the application for display by the display 104or in combination with another display. In embodiments, the API mayfurther expose functionality to configure the application to allow theuser to interact with an application by providing inputs via the touchscreen and/or the I/O devices. Applications may comprise software, whichis storable in memory and executable by the processor, to perform aspecific operation or group of operations to furnish functionality tothe wearable electronic device 100. Example applications may includeairport proximity determination applications, fitness applications,exercise applications, health applications, diet applications, cellulartelephone applications, instant messaging applications, emailapplications, photograph sharing applications, calendar applications,address book applications, and so forth.

In implementations, the user interface may include a browser. Thebrowser enables the wearable electronic device 100 to display andinteract with content such as a webpage within the World Wide Web, awebpage provided by a web server in a private network, and so forth. Thebrowser may be configured in a variety of ways. For example, the browsermay be configured as an application accessed by the user interface. Thebrowser may be a web browser suitable for use by a full resource devicewith substantial memory and processor resources (e.g., a smart phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), etc.). However, in one or moreimplementations, the browser may be a mobile browser suitable for use bya low-resource device with limited memory and/or processing resources(e.g., a mobile telephone, a portable music device, a transportableentertainment device, etc.). Such mobile browsers typically conservememory and processor resources, but may offer fewer browser functionsthan web browsers.

Generally, any of the functions described herein can be implementedusing software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manualprocessing, or a combination of these implementations. The terms“module” and “functionality” as used herein generally representsoftware, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof. Thecommunication between modules in the wearable electronic device 100 canbe wired, wireless, or some combination thereof. In the case of asoftware implementation, for instance, the module represents executableinstructions that perform specified tasks when executed on a processor,such as the processor 504 with the wearable electronic device 100 ofFIG. 5. The program code can be stored in one or more device-readablestorage media, an example of which is the memory 506 associated with thewearable electronic device 100 of FIG. 5.

Example Procedures

The following discussion describes procedures that can be implemented ina wearable electronic device providing navigation functionality. Theprocedures can be implemented as operational flows in hardware,firmware, or software, or a combination thereof. These operational flowsare shown below as a set of blocks that specify operations performed byone or more devices and are not necessarily limited to the orders shownfor performing the operations by the respective blocks. In portions ofthe following discussion, reference can be made to the environment(s) ofFIGS. 1 through 5. The features of the operational flows described beloware platform-independent, meaning that the operations can be implementedon a variety of wearable electronic device platforms having a variety ofprocessors.

Referring to FIG. 6, an example operational flow diagram 600 forfurnishing an illumination or activation pattern of indicators toprovide directional information to a user of the device is provided. Theoperational flow 600 includes operations 602, 604, 606, and 608. As willbe more fully apparent in light of the disclosure below, operations 602and 604 are depicted in an example order. However, operations 602 and604 can occur in a variety of orders other than that specificallydisclosed. For example, in one implementation, operation 604 can occurbefore operation 602. In other implementations, operations 602 and 604can occur substantially simultaneously. Other combinations arecontemplated in light of the disclosure herein, as long as theoperations are configured to receive location data for the wearableelectronic device 100 and one or more airports.

Operational flow 600 at operation 602, which includes receiving one ormore signals associated with a location of a wearable electronic device.For example, the location determining component 142 of the wearableelectronic device 100 may receive the one or more signals pertaining toa location of the device, which may be received by the antenna 111. Inan implementation, the wearable electronic device 100 may receive theone or more signals pertaining to a location of the device via theposition/direction sensor 502 (e.g., as a GPS/GNSS receiver 514, acellular/radio receiver 516, a magnetic compass 518, or combinationsthereof).

From operation 602, operational flow 600 can continue to operation 604,which includes receiving one or more signals associated with a locationof one or more airports, waypoints, navigational aids (navaids), pointsof interest (POIs), and/or other locations. The one or more signalsassociated with a location of one or more airports or other waypointsmay be received from one or more sources external to the wearableelectronic device. For example, the location determining component 142of the wearable electronic device 100 may receive the one or moresignals pertaining to a location of nearby airports, which may bereceived by the antenna 111. The one or more signals associated with alocation of one or more airports or other waypoints may resideinternally. For example, in an implementation, the locations of airportsare stored in memory, such as memory 506, which is accessed by theprocessor 504. Thus, device 100 may be equipped with a database ofairport locations including the name and location of various airports.As described above, the database may also include location informationfor other waypoints, such as non-directional beacons (NDB), VHFOmnidirectional (VOR) beacons, RNAV/GPS waypoints for approach, enroute, and departure operations, user-specified locations, combinationsthereof, and the like.

From operation 604, operational flow 600 can continue to operation 606,which includes determining which location of the one or more airports(or other waypoints) is nearest in proximity to the location of thewearable electronic device. For example, the processor 504 can comparedata associated with the location of the wearable electronic device 100with data associated with the locations of airports to determine whichairport is nearest in proximity to the wearable electronic device 100.Or, instead of determining the nearest airport, device 100 may determinethe nearest waypoint, navaid, VOR beacon, or the like as selected by theuser. As described herein, the wearable electronic device 100 caninclude a plurality of indicators 300 arranged proximal to a perimeterof a display of the wearable electronic device to provide positionaldata to a user. Such positional data can include, for example, adirectional bearing.

From operation 606, operational flow 600 can continue to operation 608,which includes activating a subset of the plurality of indicators of thedisplay, where the subset of the plurality of indicators provides adirectional bearing to the determined nearest in proximity airportlocation or other waypoint. For example, the display 104 can activatethe subset 302 of the plurality of indicators 300 at the perimeter ofdisplay 104 to provide the directional bearing to the determined nearestairport. Additionally or alternatively, the directional bearing mayindicate the nearest navaid or other waypoint selected by the user.Further, in some configurations, a first subset 302 of the indicatorsmay provide the directional bearing to the nearest airport while asecond subset of the indicators 300 simultaneously provides adirectional bearing to a different waypoint (e.g., a VOR beacon, etc.)

CONCLUSION

Although techniques have been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specificfeatures or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts aredisclosed as example forms of implementing the claimed devices andtechniques.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wearable electronic device comprising: a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver; a display device; an altitude sensorconfigured to provide pressure measurements; and a processor coupledwith the position sensor, the display device, and the altitude sensor,the processor operable to: periodically access the pressure measurementsfrom the altitude sensor; and based on the accessed pressuremeasurements— automatically activate the GPS receiver to determine acurrent geographic location of the wearable electronic device, andenable timekeeping functionality.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein theenabled timekeeping functionality is a flight timer.
 3. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to determine avertical speed based on the accessed pressure measurements and the GPSreceiver is automatically activated when the determined vertical speedsexceeds a threshold.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the altitudesensor includes a barometer.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further operable to control the display device to presentinformation associated with the current geographic location of thewearable electronic device.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein theinformation associated with the current geographic location of thewearable electronic includes navigation information.
 7. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to control thedisplay device to present information associated with the timekeepingfunctionality.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the informationassociated with the timekeeping functionality includes flight time. 9.The device of claim 1, wherein the wearable electronic device is awristwatch.
 10. A wearable electronic device comprising: a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver; a display device; an altitude sensorconfigured to provide pressure measurements; and a processor coupledwith the position sensor, the display device, and the altitude sensor,the processor operable to: periodically access the pressure measurementsfrom the altitude sensor; determine a vertical speed from the accessedpressure measurements; and based on the determined vertical speed—automatically activate the GPS receiver to determine a currentgeographic location of the wearable electronic device, control thedisplay device to present navigation information associated with thedetermined current geographic location of the wearable electronicdevice, enable timekeeping functionality including a flight timer, andcontrol the display device to present the flight timer.
 11. The deviceof claim 10, wherein the GPS receiver is automatically activated and thetimekeeping functionality is automatically enabled when the determinedvertical speed exceeds a threshold.
 12. The device of claim 10, whereinthe altitude sensor includes a barometer.
 13. The device of claim 10,wherein the wearable electronic device is a wristwatch.
 14. The deviceof claim 10, wherein the processor is further operable to automaticallybegin recording a virtual log book when the determined vertical speedexceeds a threshold.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein the virtual logbook includes the determined current geographic location of the wearableelectronic device.